The Newbern Baptist Church was organized in 1848. The following year, the congregation built this two-story church. The upper floor has a large meeting room that was built for the Masons, many of whom belonged to the church. The four large Doric columns that support the roof over the front porch are made of solid popular. Except for a few decorative changes on the inside during the late 1800s, this church is the same today as when built except for an educational building that was added to the rear in 1959. The Baptist Historical Society has records of the church’s first 111 years on deposit in the library of Samford University at Birmingham, AL (formerly Howard College). In 1936, this church was photographed and documented in the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS). It is included in Alabama’s Tapestry of Historic Places 1978 published by the Alabama Historical Commission.
The Newbern Baptist Church is located in Hale County beside Highway 61 in the community of Newbern (First Baptist Church – Google Maps).
Sources: (1) Newbern Baptist Church Historical Marker, located in front of church; (2) Alabama’s Tapestry of Historic Places 1978 published by the Alabama Historical Commission; 3) Historic Hale County, published by The Greensboro Watchman.
B&W photographs courtesy U. S. Library of Congress (HABS), photographer: Alex Bush, year: 1936.